Poveglia
by Lleayn
Summary: Poveglia. All who know the name fear it. What happens when Kai and the Bladebreakers are invited to stay on the mysterious island? A lot of angst and torture, that's what! But just who is behind this evil plot?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers and reviewers! Rei here! Some of you may know me from my story, The Power of a Phoenix. For those of you who don't know me, welcome! This story came to me while I was watching a marathon shortly before Halloween on the Scariest Places on Earth show. I watched that marathon for almost two days straight, so after I did finally stop watching it, my mind was completely warped. That's why I decided to write this story, as a way of getting all of those thoughts out of my head. This does not mean that this story will be warped, however. **

**In the episode that inspired me, the Wilson family decides to go and stay the night at a haunted island called Poveglia. The 'g' in Poveglia is silent. Anyway, some pretty twisted things happened and, while I was skeptical, I thought it was pretty cool. So I thought, why not put the Bladebreakers in the place of the Wilson family? And that's what I did. **

**Don't be fooled, everything about Poveglia has been thoroughly researched by myself, so all facts are proven and…semi-true, I suppose. I'm not exactly sure. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! **

**NON YAOI! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. **

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Poveglia. Most people outside of Italy have never heard of this place, and those that have try not to think about it. For you see, Poveglia is a place of unspeakable horror that will turn even the most skeptical into believers. Spirits haunt the island, spirits that have found it impossible for them ever to be laid to rest. Perhaps a little history is required at this point.

Poveglia is a small island between Venice and Lido. It's dark and shady past begins with the Black Death. Many people know the story of the Black Death, about how it killed hundreds of thousands of people in Europe in the 14th Century. It was said that your body would swell up, and your esophagus would tighten to the point were you couldn't even swallow water. Many of the people that were struck with this deadly illness were taken to the island known as Poveglia. The victims would have hoods placed over their heads and were then transported by gondolas from Venice to the island. They were then thrown in 'plague pits' and buried alive. What makes this so devastating is the fact that these people were left alone to suffer without any medical care whatsoever. They were simply buried and left to die.

No one dared to step foot on the island after that, until the 19th century, that is. In 1922, a psychiatric hospital was built on the island. But that's not the worst part. The hospital was built right on top of one of the biggest plague pits on the whole island. Did anyone care? Of course not. They chose to ignore the fact that the pits were even there. And they paid dearly for that mistake.

It is said that the patients brought there began to see strange spirits, spirits that belonged to the tormented plague victims. The head surgeon there saw this as an opportunity to learn more about mental disease because, of course, he assumed the patients to all be crazy. He performed crude lobotomies on the patients and conducted torturous experiments. It is said that he even cut the patients heads open and conducted medical experiments on the brains.

Soon after this all happened, the doctor himself began to see the ghosts as well. The last time he was seen alive was at the top of the bell tower of the hospital. He stood there for several moments and then…he fell. Or, perhaps, he was pushed by an unseen force. The hospital was shut down after that, but still remains on the island, waiting for more victims to fall into its trap. This might happen sooner than most people think, for six teenagers are about to go on the most terrifying adventure of their entire lives. Will they make it out alive? Or will the spirits there trap them forever, until they too wander the island side by side with the undead?

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KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Will someone get the door!"

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Hello! Guys!"

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Oh fine, I'll get it." Tyson Granger scrambled off the couch and went to answer the door. The knocking had been created by the postman.

"Kai Hiwatari?" the man asked.

"Uh, no. I'm Tyson."

"Oh," replied the man. "I was told that I could find him here. Is he around?"

"Um, yes, I think. KAI!" Tyson called through the house. Footsteps echoed through the dojo. Suddenly Kai appeared at the door.

"What?" he demanded in an impatient voice.

"Cool it, there's just someone here for you." Kai turned to the postman.

"What do you want?"

The man held out a pen and a clipboard. "Sign here." Kai obliged and signed his name on the clipboard. He handed it back to the postman, who handed him a small, square package. He then nodded to both boys and turned to walk away. Kai walked away from the door, still staring at the tiny package. It had his name on it, that was for sure, but it had no return address.

Tyson shut the door and sprinted up to Kai. "Who's it from?" he asked, leaning in for a closer look. Kai turned away from him.

"Will you stop hovering over me! I don't know who it's from."

"Well, open it," Tyson insisted, trying to contain his excitement.

"Don't tell me what to do Tyson," ordered Kai, then walked into the living room and began to open it anyways.

"Hey guys!" called Tyson. "Come in here for a sec!" The squeaking sound of the sliding glass door opening could be heard, along with the sound of footsteps hitting the wooden floors. Max and Rei appeared seconds later.

"What is it?" asked Rei. "We were right in the middle of training."

"Kai's got this weird package. Come check it out." Kai had now finished opening the package and was holding a white envelope in one hand and a video tape in the other.

"What's that?" asked Max.

"I don't know," Kai replied in a low voice, never taking his eyes off the video tape.

"Well let's watch it then!" demanded Tyson. Kai shot him a threatening look that made him cower slightly before putting the tape into the VCR.

At first Kai thought that nothing was even on the tape, that the whole thing was some kind of joke. The entire screen was black, although the VCR appeared to be working. It was then that a dark, shady voice slid smoothly from the speakers.

"Hello Kai," the voice said. "You may not know who I am, but I know who you are. Obviously, I choose to keep my identity a secret…for now."

Everyone exchanged glances, then turned back to the TV. screen.

"My name is not important for the moment, as I know that you are wondering who I am. As I said before, the mystery that is myself will be solved soon enough. Before I continue, I must ask. Do you know of a place called Poveglia? I thought not. What would a Russian like you know about this infamous island? Nothing at all. I have sent this tape to you to offer you an invitation. A three night stay on Poveglia. If you except, your physical and spiritual abilities will be tested far beyond there limits and your mind will undergo severe psychological strain. You may bring 5 guests with you to the island, no more, no less. If you accept this invitation, proceed to open the envelope if you have not already. If you do not except…well…let's just say that we will be paying you a little visit shortly, along with some of our friends as well. Salutations, and good day."

The tape stopped rolling and then popped out of the VCR. Everyone's mouths, save Kai, were hanging open. Shocked expressions covered their faces, and their eyes were widened.

"Wow," breathed Tyson, "that was twisted."

"Uh, Kai? I don't want to undergo severe psychological torture," complained Max.

Kai gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about?"

Max shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it said that you had to bring 5 guests, so I figured—

"Max, I am _not _going on a stupid trip to some island. No one's going to undergo anything."

"Well," mused Rei, "it does sound kind of interesting. I mean, who in the world could have sent that tape? And were, or what, is Poveglia anyway?"

"I don't know Rei," replied Kai. "And I don't plan on finding out."

"It could be kinda cool."

"Tyson!" yelled everyone in unison.

Tyson held up his hands in defense. "What, I didn't say that I wanted to go! I just said that it sounded kind of interesting, and a little twisted." He mumbled the last part.

"No, Tyson, it doesn't sound interesting. It sounds like another sick plot by another sick guy," retorted Kai. He then threw the tape on the floor (which landed with a 'clank') and walked away, the envelope gliding gently through the air before hitting the ground. Rei picked up the letter.

"I wonder what it says…" he mused. Rei carefully ripped open the seal, the others crowding around him, pulled out a piece of folded paper, and unfolded it. Then he began to read:

"If you are reading this, Kai Hiwatari, then it is my guess that you have accepted our invitation. Poveglia is an island off the coast of Venice, Italy, in case you didn't know, and is a breeding ground for…" Rei faltered for a moment, "spirits," he whispered. "This is merely a test of your abilities, as we are very interested in you. We wish to see how you will handle yourself in a situation were you not only have to fight for your survival, but for the survival of your friends. Below is a map of Poveglia and a brief history of the island. Your guide will meet you at Venice airport on September the twentieth. Your six tickets are included in the envelope.

Bidding you a fond farewell,

Anonymous

No sooner had the last letter left Rei's mouth did each member of the household feel a sharp jolt of pain enter their minds. It was as if clawing hands had somehow found their way inside the teen's heads, causing them extreme pain. It was short lived, however, for the pain was so intense, all three boys dropped unconscious in a matter of seconds.

Tyson, Rei, and Max all fell to the floor in a heap, their faces flushed and sweaty. Kai, who was walking down the street when the pain hit him, first landed on his knees, clutching his head in pain, before blacking out as well and falling down to the hard pavement beneath him.

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"It was lucky I saw him when I did. I almost hit the poor boy!"

"What do you suppose is wrong with him? He looks fine to me."

"Alright everyone, back up! Give the kid some air!"

Kai heard the voices around him, but they were sort of fuzzy sounding; just clear enough for him to understand what they were saying. He opened his crimson eyes slowly to see several distorted, hazy blobs hovering around him. He blinked a few times to clear his vision. Kai realized that the man closest to him appeared to be a paramedic, most likely the one who was shouting at the others to stow it. For that he was grateful, as he had a splitting headache.

"Are you ok kid?" he asked with concern.

Kai ignored him and began to push himself off the pavement and into a sitting position. He regretted doing so. A large stab of pain shot through his head, causing him to hold his head and clench his teeth. The paramedic reacted quickly, pushing him back down to the ground.

"Whoa! Take it easy! You're recovering from shock."

Kai scowled at him. "I am NOT in shock! Now let me go!" He pushed the medic out of the way and stood up on shaky legs, desperately trying to ignore the pain in his head. Needless to say, it didn't work. Kai fell right back down to his knees. The medic hovered over him again, like a pesky fly that wouldn't go away no matter how many times you shooed it.

"Young man, if you will not accompany me to the hospital, I will be forced to sedate you. You are in obvious need of medical attention."

"Hospital! You aren't taking me to any hospital! I'm fine!"

The medic shook his head and pulled a sedative out of his first aid kit. Kai tried to fight back, really he did, but didn't have the strength to do so. The needle was forced into his flesh, and Kai could feel the hot liquid begin to course through his veins. Several minutes later, he was once again unconscious.

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"Rei?"

The voice sounded distant to Rei, as if the person was whispering to him from across a room.

"Rei? Come on, buddy, wake up."

'_Tyson…' _he thought. Then he remembered the bizarre video tape, the mysterious letter, and most of all, the immense pain he had felt before blacking out. That pain had subsided to a dull ache, but his head still pounded behind his eyelids. He felt Tyson shaking his shoulders, which only worsened his headache.

"Rei, wake up. This isn't funny!" Rei noted the worry that plagued his voice, and decided to give waking up fully a shot. He slowly opened his amber eyes, careful not to irritate his already throbbing head. He could vaguely see the fuzzy shapes that he believed to be his friends hovering above him. After blinking a few times, he could clearly make out the forms around him.

"Thank God," breathed Max.

"Don't every scare us like that again Rei," warned Tyson, "or I swear to God I'll kill you."

"Sorry," Rei managed to whisper.

Tyson sighed. "Just try to wake up a little more so we can find Kai and figure out what in the hell just happened."

Rei didn't bother nodding, seeing as it probably wasn't the best idea in his condition, instead simply standing up on shaky legs.

"When did you guys wake up?" he asked.

Max shrugged. "A little while ago. Don't worry, the dizzy feeling goes away pretty quick."

"That's good," continued Rei, "cause I think I'm gonna be sick."

Max and Tyson visibly backed off. "Whatever dude, just don't throw up on us," said Max.

Rei gave them a look, then began to shakily head towards the front door. The dizziness and nausea was slowly fading away, for which he was grateful. It was then that the phone began to ring. Rei stopped in his tracks, turning to see Tyson answer it.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver. "Yeah, why do you wanna know…uh-huh…" It was at this point in the conversation that Tyson's eyes widened. "WHAT! Is he okay? Is he hurt? What happened?" Max and Rei crowded around the phone, begging to know who was on the other end.

"Go away guys! You're bugging me!" They both backed off and let Tyson continue with his conversation. "Could you give me some specific directions? Ok, thanks. We'll be right there. Bye." Tyson hung up the phone.

He turned to Max and Rei, who both gave him a look that clearly showed that they were craving information. "That was the hospital guys." The looks on there faces begged him to continue. "Kai…he's…he's in the emergency room."

"WHAT!" they both shouted in unison, shocked expressions making there way onto there faces.

"What's wrong with him?" Max demanded to know.

"I'm not sure; all they said was that he's in the emergency room and that they didn't have any more details."

"Well, let's go then!" urged Rei. Tyson and Max nodded, and they all headed out the door.

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The three teens walked swiftly down the white and crowded halls of the hospital. The place stunk horrid of anesthetic and unbearable cleanness. Luckily, the hospital that Kai had been brought to was only a short walk away. Considering that Tyson's grandpa was out of town and couldn't drive them, (like they'd trust his grandpa behind the wheel of a car anyway) this was a very good thing.

Tyson practically ran up to the desk in the emergency center waiting room and pounded his fists on the surface while asking rather rudely, "Where in the fucking heck is my friend! And you better not give me that 'no details' shit that you did over the phone, because my patience is pretty thin, lady, and I'm not afraid to get violent!"

The young lady at the desk just stared at him in astonishment; she even considered calling the police. Rei intervened before she could, however.

"I'm really sorry miss," he apologized. "It's been a long day and my small brained friend over hear has a really bad temper."

"Shut up Rei! I do not have a small brain and I do not have a bad temper!"

Rei ignored him. "Were looking for Kai Hiwatari. He was brought in earlier and we need to see him."

The receptionist considered it for a minute, contemplating whether or not to give out this information to a potentially dangerous young man, but the one called Rei seemed sincere enough and she began searching for the name Hiwatari on her computer.

"He's in room 69, just down the hall," she replied when she had found the number. Once the other two boys and began sprinting down the hallway, she whispered to Rei, "Please keep your friend under control though, or we might be forced to sedate him."

"Oh, don't worry," assured Rei," I will."

When they walked into Kai's hospital room, they expected to see him lying in a bed, horribly injured. Instead, he was fully clothed and seemed ready to leave. When he saw them come in he let out a large groan, knowing what was coming next.

"Kai!" yelled Tyson, who began to quickly advance toward their team captain.

'_Oh, great…' _he thought.

Tyson embraced him in a brotherly (and rather large) hug, while Kai stood there helpless, his breath caught in his throat as Tyson was suffocating him.

"I was so worried! You scared us all half to death Kai! We thought you were hurt!"

"Tyson," gasped Kai.

"Yeah?"

"If you don't let go of me, I'm going to pound your head into your shoulders." Tyson abruptly let go, and Kai let out a large breath.

"You know I don't like being touched Tyson!" scolded Kai.

"I know that, but we were worried about you man. We thought that something bad had happened to you."

Kai let out a 'hn'. "Well, I'm fine. I just passed out is all."

"Really?" inquired Rei. "So did we. Right after I finished reading that letter."

"What? Why did you guys open that thing! This whole thing could be a trap—

"Which means that whoever is doing this isn't going to leave us alone, so we might as well get this over with," Rei cut him off.

"Rei—

"Listen Kai, if we don't do this, these people will never leave us alone. Maybe it's best that we just go."

Despite the other's fear, they nodded in agreement. Whoever this guy was, they didn't want him stalking them.

Kai let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his slate hair. "I guess…I have no choice to go then, huh?"

"Basically."

Kai groaned. "I know I'm going to regret this…fine I'll go." Smiles crossed all of their faces. They were going to Poveglia.

"See," began Max, "that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Kai scowled at him and Max backed off. "But if anything…unusual happens, we are leaving, you got that?" They all nodded their heads in unison. "Let's get out of here then, this place is making me sick to my stomach."

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"Sir, the letter has been opened."

The statement was directed at a man sitting behind a long, oak desk, filled with papers. Flames danced and crackled in the fireplace in front of him and crimson tapestries lined the walls. The man's face was unidentifiable, as it was hidden in the shadows.

"Excellent," he replied. The letter had been read, which meant that Kai and his friends were now bounded by the spell sent with the package. When he and his friends got to Poveglia, they wouldn't be leaving until he said they would.


	2. Pastyface

Hello again. Thank you to all of my reviewers! I love you all! I promise that I will write you responses for the next chapter, but right now it's ten o'clock and I still have a test to study for, so I need to scoot my booty along!

This chapter is merely to explain things a little more before angst and my little spirit friends enter the story. So please be patient! The point of this story will come around sooner or later…hopefully sooner.

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Someone please let me stop writing these stupid disclaimers, as they are only making me feel worse. **

Happy Reading!

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The four boys made it back to the dojo without anymore strange occurrences. When they walked in they headed straight to the living room, as that was the place where the letter had been dropped. It was here that they all stood hunched over staring at the tiny piece of paper, wondering what would happen if they touched it.

"You think it's safe to pick it up?" whispered Max, as if the paper could actually hear them talking about it.

Kai, however, saw no reason to whisper. "Dammit Max, it's just a stupid piece of paper."

"But, when we read it before—

'I know what happened Tyson, and I don't think it has anything to do with the letter." Kai bent over to pick it up.

"No Kai, don't!" pleaded Max. Kai just rolled his eyes and picked it up. Nothing happened.

"I told you." He stood up straight, paper in hand, and began skimming it with his eyes. "So, Poveglia's some kind of island?" The others nodded. He looked back down at the paper, reading through the brief history summery and studying the map. When he was finished he let out a 'hn' and threw the paper over his shoulder. Rei caught it before it hit the ground.

"I still think it sounds stupid," he commented.

"I don't think it sounds stupid, Kai. I think it sounds important. And it sounds like their not going to let us back out of it."

"Hn. Even so, Rei, it could be another trap. Actually, it probably is a trap. We aren't without enemies, you know."

"I know that, and that's why I think we should check it out. Who knows what these guys will do if we don't go. Besides, you already agreed to come."

"That was before I read that letter. Whoever these guys are, they're out to get us and I'm not going to take the risk of never being able to leave that island alive. If there are really 'spirits' on this island, which I doubt, I don't like the idea of spending my entire after-life with them."

Max and Tyson watched the argument closely, although they didn't dare to interfere, their eyes darting back and forth to Kai and Rei like ping-pong balls as they spoke.

"Come on Kai, you said you would come." A sly smile spread across Rei's face. "You're not scared are you?"

Kai merely closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Nice try Rei. But I'm not falling for that."

"Whatever Kai, but I think you're scared."

"Knock it off Rei."

"You are scared aren't you?"

"No, I am not!" he finally shouted. Then he sighed. "At least…not for myself."

Rei, along with the others, gave him a strange look. "What are talking about?"

"I mean that I don't care what happens to me. I…I just don't want anything to…to…" Kai struggled with the words. Showing compassion was something he didn't normally do, and was one of the few things that he wasn't good at.

"You don't want anything to what?"

"I don't want anything to happen to you guys, okay?"

Tyson smirked. "Awe, Kai. I never knew you cared."

"I never said anything about you, Tyson."

Tyson pouted. "Do you have to bring me down like that all the time? I mean really…"

Kai pretended to think about it. "Yeah."

Tyson's pout grew bigger. "Sourpuss…" he mumbled. Kai heard, but chose to ignore the comment. It wasn't like he hadn't heard it before.

"Listen, I'm the captain and it's my job to make sure that all of you stay out of trouble, which is extremely hard for any of you to do." Kai's eyes flashed over to Tyson. "Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like a good idea to go."

"But Kai—

"I said no Rei!"

Everyone became silent after the outburst. They weren't used to Kai acting this way, especially towards Rei. The two usually got along just fine. They hadn't been known to get in many arguments.

Kai, seeing that no one was going to question him on his decision, turned on his heal and stormed out of the dojo once again. Once he was gone, the three remaining teens sighed simultaneously.

"Will that guy ever make up his mind! I mean, he has worse mood swings than my mom!" stated Max.

"I think he knows something that we don't Max," Rei hypothesized. "I think he knows who's behind this whole thing."

"BioVolt," chanted Max and Tyson in unison.

Rei nodded. "Exactly. You guys remember what happened last year? Voltaire nearly had Kai. The world would have been in peril if not for what happened at Baikal. Kai won't admit it, but I think he's afraid that he'll loose control again if he faces BioVolt."

"Maybe that's what he meant when he said that he wasn't worried so much about himself, but about us," Max suggested.

Tyson snorted. "Who knew the grumpy gus cared at all?"

"Tyson! You know that Kai would never let anything happen to us."

"Well he sure hasn't made it apparent until now!"

"You know how Kai is, Tyson," Rei pointed out. "He's not real good about showing emotions."

"Then why did he just then?" asked Max. "He's never admitted that he actually semi likes us."

"It was the only way to get us to agree with him. Just saying no wouldn't have stopped us from going, we all know that. He probably figured that the truth would work better than intimidation in this case."

There was a brief silence. "Maybe we shouldn't go, guys. Maybe Kai's right. It does sound dangerous. And if BioVolt's behind it, it's better that we don't get in the way. If Kai really does care about us, BioVolt could use us against him," stated Max.

Rei nodded. "That's why Kai tries to stay devoid of emotions. He has some dangerous enemies, and they won't be able to hurt him if they don't know what he's thinking."

"He stays devoid of emotions because he's a sourpuss, Rei. Always has been, always will be," said Tyson.

"You don't know that Tyson."

"Whatever Rei, think what you want. But I'll tell you something I do know. I have never seen a kid act as strange as he does in my entire life. He's even more serious than an adult. It's like he doesn't even know what fun and friends are! He treats beyblading like it's the most important thing in the world, and not just a game."

"Even so Tyson, this isn't about beyblading. And this isn't a game. In case you haven't noticed, this is for real, and it's obviously important if Kai is this worried about it."

Tyson shrugged. "Kinda sounds like a joke if you think about it."

"Tyson, I don't think this is a joke. There's something serious going on here. Now, we need to go find Kai and get this thing straightened out."

"But Kai doesn't want us to find him Rei. Why do you think he left in the first place?"

"I don't care. This is important and if we want to get this problem solved, we're gonna need his cooperation."

"Let's go then," said Max, feeling left out, "before it gets dark and the cops start patrolling the streets."

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Kai walked swiftly and silently down the concrete stretch, hands in his pockets, a solemn look on his face. He needed time to think, and he couldn't do it with those bimbos hanging around.

This first problem at hand: Who was behind the mysterious tape and letter? The first thing that occurred to him was that his grandfather had somehow gotten out of jail and was trying to lure him back to the Abbey. But, this Poveglia place was in Italy, a pretty good distance from Moscow. Plus, the invitation was for six. If BioVolt was behind it, wouldn't Voltaire only have invited four, Rei, Tyson, Max, and himself? Kenny was in America doing research with Judy and Emily, and besides, Voltaire wouldn't waste time on Kenny anyway. It was the remaining three bladebreakers that he would be interested in. Kai wouldn't have time to think about anything else but their safety while on the island, which would give Voltaire the upper hand.

What purpose could Voltaire possibly have by luring them to some bewitched island anyway? This kind of thing wasn't his grandfather's style. If Voltaire wanted Kai back at BioVolt, he would have made it apparent. Drugging his teammates, knocking Kai out, and then dragging him to some God forsaken place that only Hell knows where was something that he would do. So that ruled out Voltaire as far as the criminal mastermind behind this situation.

The second problem: Should he and the others go? He had said that he would leave with them, then said no, they weren't going. It did seem like something that needed to be checked out. Especially if it was going to have an effect on his team. Of course, when he had said no, that didn't rule him out as far as going with someone else. He had considered asking the Demolition Boyz to go with him, seeing as they were more physically and mentally qualified for this kind of thing. Plus, they would know for sure if Voltaire played a part in any of this.

Kai suddenly groaned. _'Oh great,' _he thought. _'It's the three stooges.' _

Kai could hear them shouting his name behind him and the sound of their feet hitting the concrete at a rapid pace. He turned around to face them, his expression clearly saying, "Someone shoot me".

"Kai!" Perfect. The human blob was with them (AKA: Tyson). Tyson ran up to him, taking in deep breaths as he recovered from his daily exercise. He held up a finger to say, "Just a second", then began breathing heavily again.

"Ok…I'm ready…Listen Kai, I know you don't want to go to this weird, twisted, confusing, freaky island thingy, but you did promise back at the—

"I'm going Tyson."

"Really! Hey guys!" he yelled as Max and Rei caught up. "Kai changed his mind! Again!"

"Really Kai?" asked Rei. "You're going?"

"_I'm _going. _You're _not."

Looks of complete disagreement crossed their faces. "What the hell Kai! Why cant we go!"

"I already told you, Rei. You. Are. Not. Coming. We talked about this back at the dojo. I'm not taking any of you with me."

"Then who's going with you?" Max asked.

"I'm taking the Demolition Boyz," Kai stated simply.

"Holy fricken hell Kai! Have you gone insane! _We're_ your team. _We _should go! You're going to choose _them _over _us_!"

"You would just get in my way Tyson. This way, I can solve this problem without putting my team in danger."

"So you're going to put them in danger instead!"

"They can take care of themselves. They aren't unfamiliar with these kinds of situations."

"You mean that you've dealed with spirits before?"

"There are no spirits Tyson! Get that through your fat head!"

"They say that the most skeptical of the supernatural forces around us are always the first to go." It was not Tyson who had replied to Kai this time. No, this voice was not even male. It was soft, yet icy, and heavily accented in what seemed to be Italian.

They all turned around to see a woman standing behind them, looking a little older than Kai. She had long, flowing black hair and blood red eyes. Very unusually for an Italian, the eyes that is. She had a cold, protective aura about her, like she had been to hell and back again. Her voice showed no emotion, her face just the same. She was just…there. Like a machine or something, only different. It was like she was a mix of the obedience of a machine and the isolation of a traumatized human. Not a good combination.

"Were did she come from?" Rei whispered to Tyson.

"I don't know, but she's hot," he whispered back. Rei smacked him on the head.

"This is serious Tyson! Control your hormones, please!"

"Who are you?" Kai asked the girl. Her face remained the same. Pale as alabaster, also unusual for an Italian, and devoid of any liveliness.

"Trista."

"What kind of name is that?" Max thought aloud. Trista, for the first time since she had shown up, showed a little emotion by glaring at the blond.

"Max!" they all hissed in unison.

"Oh shit, did I say that out loud?"

Trista's glare sent a shiver down Max's spine. There was something very wrong about this girl. "Hold your tongue, American. Do not make me kill you."

"How do you know that I'm American?"

"A simple-minded fool could tell that you're a spoiled little American brat. Your posture is terrible, your accent has a hint of southernness to it, and you have the appearance of a Caucasian."

"Hey!" Max yelled at the insult to his country (ok, technically, I'm Chinese/Japanese. But I'm an American, born and bred, and have nothing against them…me…us…whatever! And I also don't think that all Americans are spoiled, skanky, stuck up, rich little pain in the asses like some countries think we are).

"What kind of little vampire are you, anyway?" Kai shot back. He may have been Russian, but he didn't agree with this pasty faced robot-like girl stereotyping people from different races and countries.

Trista turned her gaze to Kai. "How dare you insult me, Russian. Do not tempt me to kill you as well. I have nowhere to put the bodies."

"What is it with you and killing anyway?" asked Tyson.

"You will see soon enough. I am here to escort you to Poveglia. Your flight is for tomorrow, so we must leave now." Trista quickly scanned the boys. "There are only four of you. You are short by two."

"They're not coming."

Trista raised an eyebrow, an immense expression for her. "Oh?"

"Yes we are Kai!" yelled Tyson.

"_No_ you're not. I already said that I'm taking Tala and the others with me."

"But Kai, they're all the way in Russia, and we're right here. It would make more sense to take us," pointed out Rei.

"I said—

"Have you made your decision? We must be going."

Kai closed his eyes at the remark, as if praying for patience. He really did _not _like being rushed by anyone. Especially this freaky pasty-faced girl whom he didn't even know. Although, it was kind of hypocritical to call her pasty-faced, considering he was just as equally pale.

"_No_, I have _not _made my decision, thank you," he replied, a bit of a bite coming with said reply.

He turned back to Rei and pretended that the girl wasn't there. Then he sighed. "I guess…I guess I'm going to have to take you." The group cheered. They were going to Poveglia…again.

"Wait a minute," said Rei, cutting off the cheers. "We're still short two people."

The group of teens thought for a moment while Trista tapped her foot impatiently, another immense emotion for her.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Tyson. Kai could almost see a light bulb floating over his head. "The White Tigers! They're in Japan for the week. Why not ask two of them to come?"

"That's not a bad idea Tyson," praised Rei. "Let's go back to the dojo and call them."

They all nodded, save Kai, and ran back to the dojo, save Kai again, who walked. Trista groaned, but followed them nonetheless. All these emotions were wearing her out. She hadn't shown this much personality since the day she was born, screaming her little lungs out after leaving the familiarity of her mother's womb.

'_Oh well,' _she thought. _'I might as well get this mission over with before I turn into one of those balloon heads…again.' _

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"Hello?" Mariah's voice was the one emitting from the speaker of the phone.

"Mariah?"

"Rei! Is that you?"

"Yeah. Mariah, I need to ask you guys for a big favor. Is Lee around?"

"I'm sorry Rei, could you hold on for a second?"

Rei sighed. "Whatever Mariah. Just hurry."

In the hotel room of the White Tigers, Mariah put a hand over the receiver to muffle the sound. The boys were googling over Russian and Polish models streaking down the runway on the fashion channel. Of course, they weren't watching the show to see the fall line-up.

"Will you guys stop drooling and turn that stupid TV off! I'm talking to Rei!"

Lee merely reached over and turned the volume all the way down. It wasn't like they cared about the sound anyway.

"Sorry Rei, they're watching super models on Style Network."

"Again? Tell them to get a life."

Mariah put her hand over the phone again. "Rei says to get a life."

"Whatever," was the simultaneous reply.

"Whatever," Mariah said into the phone.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell Lee and Gary to meet us at the airport here in Tokyo? You see, Kai got this weird letter…" Rei then proceeded to tell Mariah about the days events.

"Hmm…" mused Mariah. She then walked soundlessly into the bedroom and closed the door so the others wouldn't hear her.

"Well, here's the thing Rei. Gary and Kevin are flying back to China tonight, seeing as the tournament's over, but me and Lee are staying, so we could go with you instead."

"Why are you and Lee staying?"

"Well, you see, I have a…cousin staying here, and Lee wants to meet her. I said I'd visit her while I'm in the neighborhood anyway, so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone?"

"…Really…?"

"Yep. Anyway, we could go with you."

"…Well…I guess it wouldn't hurt if you come along. Are you sure that your…um, cousin…won't mind?"

"Of course not. I'll visit her when we get back."

"Alright. Meet us at the Tokyo airport tomorrow morning."

"You got it." They both hung up. Mariah grinned from ear to ear and jumped up and down slightly in excitement. He had bought into her fib. Well…sort of. But it didn't matter. She had tricked her way into spending more time with Rei. Oh how clever she could be!

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A couple translations for you:

**Trista: **Italian name meaning sad, since Trista is a very, _very _sad person, as you will come to see, and I mean that in both senses of the word sad.


	3. Mara and Marietta

Happy Holidays! Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been focusing on my other fic at the moment. I hope you all understand.

**PLEASE READ THIS! If you reviewed this story, then don't freak out that I'm not going to reply to you at the beginning of the fic like some people do. If you have that little reply button on your review, that's how I'll be answering you from now on. So check your email! **

**Also, just to clear something up that I think people might ask me later, Trista is dead. The three new characters that I'm adding in today are also dead. They are spirits, ghosts, apparitions, whatever. Point is, they're dead. That's all. **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade.

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Mariah walked calmly and coolly out of the bedroom, the look of pure innocence plastered on her face. Being the youngest in her family had taught her the cutesy skills she needed to make anyone believe what she said, and that would come in handy when she had to convince Lee and only Lee to come with her on this little trip of Rei's.

When she walked back into the living room the boys' eyes were still glued to the TV screen.

"Um, Lee?" she began.

"Uh-huh?" Lee droned, never taking his eyes off the screen. Mariah smiled. Good. His absent-minded state would make it even easier for her to lie to him about the trip.

"Rei wants you and me to come to this island with him, a vacation kind of thing. Will you go?" she asked innocently, twirling a stray piece of pink hair.

For the first time in an hour, Lee's face turned away from the TV. Mariah may be good at lying, but he wasn't stupid. He knew something was up. "Why just you and me? What about Kevin and Gary?"

Both boys turned to face Mariah also at hearing their names. "Huh?" the asked in unison, having completely missed the first part of the conversation. Mariah chose to ignore them.

"They only have six tickets Lee, so I said that we'd go."

"Hey!" yelled Kevin. "I can't believe you did that! I wanna go!"

"Oh Kevin, stop being such a baby," said Mariah. Kevin pouted and mumbled something about him not being a baby.

"Yes you are," they all replied in unison. Kevin rolled his eyes.

Mariah turned to face Lee again with the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. "Please?" she begged meekly.

"Come on Mariah, not the face."

Mariah kneeled beside Lee, her eyes never losing their cuteness. "Please Lee?"

Lee had to look away. He hated it when she used that face, the face that could make him do anything.

Finally, Mariah broke through. "Alright, I'll go."

Mariah squealed and threw her arms around him. "Thanks Lee! I'll go pack." She got up and ran into the bedroom, leaving Lee with two very disappointed teammates. He endured their pestering and complaining for a half hour before finally getting up and pounding on the bedroom door, begging Mariah to hurry.

**Tokyo Airport **

The boys and Trista waited impatiently in their flight gate for the two White Tigers to arrive. Tyson was drumming his fingers on the armrest of the seat he was in, Max was fiddling with his beyblade, Rei was holding his head in his hands, Kai appeared to be half asleep, and Trista was constantly checking her watch. Finally, they heard the sound of Mariah's nagging voice badgering Lee about going too slow.

"Come on Lee! We are trying to meet a deadline here, so to speak. Try moving a little faster, why don't ya."

"Me? Who took 45 minutes to pack, huh? We would have been here ages ago, but _no_. You had to back every piece of clothing you own first. _And_ make-up. _And _all of your hair shit that you always lug around."

"Shut-up Lee! At least I try to look half way decent, unlike everyone else in this family, including you!"

Although they couldn't see them yet, they could hear the argument the two were having echo down the hall. The echoed fighting continued for another two minutes before the group could finally see the two siblings push their way through the sea of people.

"Sorry we're late guys, but Lee—

"Save it Mariah, we could hear you guys fighting from the parking lot," Tyson cut in. Mariah frowned and blushed.

"Who's she?" Lee asked, gesturing to Trista. At the word 'she', Mariah's head shot up to Trista. Mariah glared. Trista glared back. Mariah didn't like other girls (besides her, of course) around them, and, more importantly, around Rei. He was hers, and no one else's. Of course, Rei didn't quite know that yet, but one of these days!

"That's Trista," answered Rei. "She's our 'spiritual guide.'"

Mariah pursed her lips. "Is she now?" Mariah folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. Trista's face remained expressionless. The others noticed the change in Mariah. Max looked up from his beyblade, Tyson just stared at her, Kai raised an eyebrow, and Rei gave her a questioning look.

"What's up with you Mariah?" he asked. Mariah's eyes shot over to Rei.

"Nothing!" she insisted. Rei looked at her disbelievingly. "Nothing!" she repeated. Rei just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Wait a minute," said Lee. "Spiritual guide? Why do we need a spiritual guide?" Mariah gasped. She had conveniently forgotten to tell him exactly where they were going on 'vacation' to at the hotel, just in case Lee would have changed his mind upon hearing the news.

"Didn't Mariah tell you?" asked Rei.

"Tell me what?" Lee asked Mariah. She sheepishly grinned.

"Well, you see, I didn't know how you'd take it if I told you…"

"About what?"

Mariah sighed. "Lee, this isn't a vacation. Rei and the others were forced to come."

"By who?"

"We don't know. All we know is that they want us to come to this haunted island called Poveglia, where there are supposedly spirits and other…dead things and stuff."

"Mariah!"

"I'm sorry Lee! I didn't think you'd come with me if I told you, and I want to go!"

"I can't believe you did this. Actually, I can believe it. But I still don't like it!"

"Please, Lee?" Mariah's eyes got wide.

"Not the face again, Mariah!"

Mariah moved closer to Lee, pouting as she did so. Lee's face contorted in pity and anger before he finally gave in.

"Fine!"

Mariah smiled from ear to ear.

"Come on guys, there calling our rows to board," Rei pointed out. Sure enough, the intercom was voicing their seats through the speakers. The seven teens picked up their bags and boarded the plane.

What everyone failed to notice, however, were the two hazes floating above the seats. As soon as the teens had entered the plane, the hazes transformed into human bodies, now standing on the ground. Anyone who happened to be looking at the spot were they stood would have seen to young women pop out of thin air.

Both women wore 1920's Italian style clothing. Their skin was abnormally pale and their blue eyes glowed with a strange emotion, somewhere between anger and bloodlust. The two were twins, identical as it looked, with scars decorating their bodies from head to toe. Their black hair was let loose around their shoulders, ruffled and messy. The two looked at each other, then snapped their fingers. The scars disappeared, their hair straightened, and their outdated clothes suddenly turned modern.

Without a single word spoken, the two made their way onto the plane.

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"Ah, Italy!" sighed Mariah, stretching her arms. She was completely stiff after the overnight flight. The others followed suit, except Kai and Trista, who stood by the walls of the airport, arms crossed over their chests. It was amazing how alike they acted sometimes, except for the fact that Trista was most likely a bloodthirsty murderer who had a weird obsession with death.

They were standing outside the airport, waiting for one of the shuttle buses to take them to the hotel Trista had reserved beforehand. The walkway they were standing on was covered with tourists snapping pictures of each other and of Italians who were greeting their families. Mopeds with gorgeous Italian boys riding them sped by. The Italian language echoed through the air. Gondolas transported people across the waters of a nearby river.

Mariah sighed. "Remember the tournament in Rome, Rei?"

"Yes Mariah," he replied groggily, yawning. Tyson caught the yawn, then Max, then Lee. They were all tired, except for Mariah, Kai, and Trista. Not very many things could wear Mariah out, and as for Kai and Trista, well, Trista was inhuman and Kai was just an enigma.

"My employer requested for me to give you four days before we make our way to Poveglia," explained Trista. "Do what you wish for those four days, but do not attempt to escape the country, as your efforts will be fruitless."

They all nodded. Finally, the shuttle pulled up and the teens clamored into it. Trista hesitated for a moment, sensing another presence, a dark one. After she finished pausing, she joined the others in the vehicle.

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The two beings, who were at the airport in Tokyo and what Trista was sensing, stepped out of the shadows of the building just in time to watch their prey ride away in the shuttle. The two twins, named Mara and Marietta, smiled evilly, snapped their fingers in unison, and disappeared.

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Trista stormed through the forests of Poveglia, ignoring the thorns and branches that whipped at her. She passed the psychiatric hospital (see chapter one for information on said hospital) and made her way to one of the biggest plague pits on the island, save for the one the hospital was built over. It was here that the most spiritual energy could be found, and were she hoped to find the reason why she was so angry.

Icy composure forgotten, Trista screamed the names of those who she was sure were the cause of her anger.

"Mara! Marietta!" The two twins both appeared out of nowhere in front of Trista. They still wore their modern clothing, looking for all the world like two ordinary young women.

"Yes?" they asked simultaneously.

"Why have you been following me? This is my mission, not yours."

"We have no interest in you," they replied, once again, in unison. "It is the young boy we are after. The one they call Kai. The negative energy he radiates is enough for even you to feel a lust for him."

"I care nothing for him. Stay out of my way, both of you, or I will make sure you suffer."

"There is nothing you could do to make us suffer more than we already have. Your black magic has no power here."

Trista narrowed her eyes. "We'll see. In the meantime, I don't want either of you to leave this island, understand?"

The twins remained silent.

"Good." Trista then turned on her heal and disappeared into the misty forest.

"She cannot stop us from leaving Poveglia," stated Mara. "We must find the boy. We must make him one of us."

Marietta nodded. "He will die. Trista can do nothing to stop us from killing him."

"His great-grandmother resides on this island," Mara pointed out. "She will try to stop us."

"Adriana's power is miniscule compared to ours."

"I'm not so sure. She may be a treat."

Marietta snorted. "If she gives us any grief, then she will burn in Hell. I will make sure of it." She then snapped her fingers, disappearing again. Mara did the same.

When they had gone, the figure of a 20 year-old woman with two-toned blue hair and emerald eyes stepped out of the mist. She was dressed in 1920's clothing, just as Mara and Marietta had been. A name was inscribed on the necklace she wore. The name was Adriana.

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The Bladebreakers, along with the two White Tiger members, were treading the streets of Venice. Mariah had been gracious enough to let the boys take a nap before going site-seeing, although she had complained quite a bit about having to wait. Trista had said that she was going back to the island, which suited them just fine. Trista was too much like Kai, and one Kai was plenty enough.

The six teens stopped on a bridge that overlooked the water. From the bridge they could see a group of islands not far from land. On the railing of the bridge was a small plaque. The group crowded around the tiny bronze sign.

"What's it say?" asked Tyson.

"I don't know," replied Max. "It's written in Italian."

Just as they were all about to leave the bridge, they heard Kai's voice.

"Before you is the archipelago that contains the infamous island, Poveglia. A warning of caution, this island holds extreme danger. Trespassers will be prosecuted." Kai ignored the questioning looks from the others.

"You can speak Italian Kai?" asked Rei.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's not important, Tyson. Now let's go." Kai put his hands in his pockets and walked away before they could ask any more questions. Behind him, the remaining teams glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed after him.

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Mara and Marietta stealthily followed the teens through the streets of Venice. The boy Kai had the largest of negative auras they had ever felt coming from a human. Spirits like the twins were drawn to negative energy, and the more negativity radiating off of the person, the more they were drawn in. Negative energy usually radiated off people with violent pasts. Many soldiers began radiating this sort of energy after participating in a war of some kind. Traumatized or abused children or adults also radiated this energy. They weren't sure what had happened to this boy, but it must have been awful for him to have such a strong negative aura. And the twins liked that.

Once a spirit senses an aura that appeals to them, they will not stop chasing the owner of the aura until he or she is dead. Most spirits find it extremely hard to wait for a person to die naturally, so they kill them. How do they do this? Usually, the spirit feeds off the person's negative energy. When they feed off negative energy, they also feed off life energy too. However, spirits cannot take in all of a person's energy at one time, so they must do it slowly, causing the person to die a slow, painful death. But, if the spirit waits too long in between feedings, the person can gain their lost energy back. When that happens, the spirit can no longer feed off that person.

This is what the twins planned on doing to Kai. They had to be cautious, though. If Trista sensed that they had been feeding, she would do all that she could to stop them. Trista was under strict orders to bring all the teens in alive. If she failed, she would be sent to Hell.

Mara and Marietta disappeared, two hazes standing in their place. The hazes flew over the group. Suddenly, a strange aura that only spirits could see began to surround Kai. This was a normal part of the feeding process. The aura would be drawn out of the body when spirits were near. Slowly, the aura began to fade, instead surrounding the hazes. An apparent change came over Kai. He began to slow down, his breathing becoming irregular. He finally stopped moving altogether, taking in deep, shaky breaths. The two hazes finished their feeding, reappearing as humans a safe distance away from the teens. When they broke the connection to the boy, he blacked out.

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All of a sudden, Kai began to weaken. It was like something was drawing the life right out of him. He began to slow down, falling behind the others. His breaths became labored and irregular. He eventually stopped walking completely.

Kai felt his heart give a twang of sorts, as if something was pulling at him. Then, he fell forward.

The others heard the 'thud' Kai's body had made when it hit the ground. Rei was the first to turn around and see Kai passed out on the pavement.

"Kai!" he yelled. The others turned around as well. They gasped and rushed to where he had fallen.

Tyson was the first to reach him. He dropped to his knees, placed a hand on Kai's back, and tried to shake him awake.

"Kai! Come on Kai, wake up! This isn't funny! Kai!" Tyson was about to turn him over when Rei intervened.

"Tyson, don't!"

"Why not?"

Rei knelt down beside Kai as well. "We don't know if he's hurt or not. By moving him, we could cause more damage."

"Rei, there's nothing wrong with him! He was fine a minute ago!"

"We don't know that Tyson!" There was a short silence.

"Is he going to be okay, Rei?" whispered Mariah.

Rei checked Kai's pulse. "I don't know. His pulse is pretty irregular, and I don't even know what's wrong with him." Rei sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Max, will you go find an ambulance?" Max nodded and ran off to find a phone.

Rei looked back at Kai. Things were looking pretty bad, and they hadn't even gotten to the island yet.

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First off, let me just answer some questions that I know some people will ask. No, Kai isn't going to die. No, he isn't going to fall into a coma. No, their will be no Kai pairings in this fic. Savvy?

**Translations: **

**Adriana: **An Italian name meaning dark.

**Mara/Marietta:** Italian names both meaning bitter, as the twins are quite bitter.


	4. More questions, fewer answers

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

**Quote of the Update: **America's one of the finest countries anyone ever stole.—Bobcat Goldthwait

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A slight haze drifted over Venice. Anyone who might have, by some miracle, seen the haze that was floating through the skies probably would have dismissed it as a trick of the sun, as humans' minds are very literal and hardly thing anything unnatural about any kind of occurrence such as this one. Of course, the haze was not a trick of the light, but something much more powerful and complex.

The haze drifted over to a scene in the middle of a road. Five teens stood hunched over an unconscious body, trying to get the person to respond. Unfortunately, no change came over the person, and the haze knew why. Suddenly, one of the teens got up and ran in the other direction, probably heading to find an ambulance. The haze knew, however, that a doctor would be of no help in the situation.

The haze flew in lower until it was directly over the body. A translucent hand suddenly appeared and placed itself on the boy's forehead. A faint, pink aura surrounded him for several seconds, then the hand drew away and the aura disappeared. When the young teen began to stir slightly, the haze flew a great distance, then landed on a cobbled road. The haze began to diminish, and in its place stood a girl who looked to be in her early 20's. She wore a necklace with only one word scripted on it.

And that word was Adriana.

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Kai could feel himself being slowly pulled back into consciousness. He didn't recall passing out, and couldn't really think of a reason for why he would. He felt perfectly fine, albeit a little tired, but that was nothing to black out from. When he finally did remember what had happened, his breath caught in his throat.

Great. Just great.

They had been sightseeing, when all of a sudden he had begun to feel unusually sick. Then, he had passed out…In front of everyone. Perfect. Now he was going to be bombarded with questions and concerns and, worst of all, pity. Kai decided that the best thing to do in this kind of situation was just to wake up, get on your feet, and pretend like to whole thing had never happened.

Kai opened his eyes to see more concerned faces standing over him than he was used to seeing. The first face he saw was Rei's, whose eyes widened when he saw him.

"Hey guys! He's awake!"

Kai cringed at the shout that had been sounded way too close to his face. Kai didn't wait for the stampede of footsteps to get any closer to him before abruptly standing up.

"Kai, what are you doing?! You shouldn't be standing up!" scolded Rei.

"Why the hell not?"

"You just passed out cold in the middle of the street. Normal people don't just stand up and pretend like nothing's wrong when something like that happens."

"Rei, nothing _is_ wrong with me, so drop it." Without even waiting for him to reply, Kai began walking off towards the hotel, leaving a very confused group of teens behind him.

"What just happened?" Lee asked.

Rei stared at Kai's back for a moment. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with him. But he had just passed out with no warning. That usually didn't signal that a person was okay. Then again, he was only out for about a minute…It was all very confusing.

"I'm not sure," he finally answered.

"I bet this has something to do with that Trista chick!" Tyson declared. "Ever since we met her, weird things have been popping out of nowhere."

"Tyson, weird things always pop out of nowhere when it comes to Kai. It's a regular occurrence," Rei pointed out.

"Yeah, but nothing like this!"

"Tyson does have a point. We've dealt with some pretty strange things before, but I'd have to say that, from what I've heard, this has to be the strangest thing yet," agreed Lee.

"Meanwhile," Mariah broke in, "we're all standing in the middle of the street, talking openly about strange phenomena, and people are starting to stare. Maybe we should just go back to the hotel and think about all this later. It's giving me a headache anyway."

"Anything that you have to think about for more than five minutes gives you a headache, Mariah," teased Lee.

"Will you shut up!"

"Ok, that's enough," said Rei loudly. "We should be getting back anyway. It's getting late." That was when all of them noticed that the stars were beginning to come out and the sky was growing darker. They nodded in silent agreement and headed in the same direction Kai had only minutes earlier.

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Adriana made her way silently and gracefully across Poveglia, despite the fact that she was completely drained. Just because she was dead didn't mean that using the powers that one received after death wasn't tiring. It had been a difficult job, healing the boy. Mara and Marietta had nearly drained him of his entire life force. But she refused to let one of her lineage fall because of this wicked place, as she had so many years ago.

No doubt the twins would be quite upset with her. Tusya would be even more upset, putting it lightly. No one was to leave the island without his consent, and he had made it perfectly clear that those who did would be punished. She wasn't extremely worried about it, though. She had saved the life of the human that he had ordered to this very island himself. If anything, he would be angry at Mara and Marietta for not being able to control themselves from not only leaving the island, but from almost stealing another life, and one that Tusya did not want stolen.

Adriana scowled. Every spirit on this island could go to hell, for all she cared. The haunting memory of what had happened here while they were still alive had caused most of them to become wicked and malicious. Only a few still held their dignity, even in death. She was sick of this place, and wished to just pass on normally like everyone else did when they died, instead of having to be cursed with remaining in the living world, even though she was no longer among the living.

Adriana's thoughts wandered back to Tusya. What was he planning anyway? And why did he want those humans here? She had a bad feeling about the whole affair, and was certain she was going to more involved in this than she already was. It was going to be a long next couple of weeks…

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**Two days later **

Things had gotten slightly back to normal for the six teens over the course of two days. Well, as close to normal as you can get when you're being sent to a haunted island by a video tape sent through the mail. None of them were even aware till this experience that ghosts—or whatever was on that crazy island—could send things by mail. Who does that anyway? It was all very creepy…But, of course, everyone had already established the fact that this whole experience was altogether strange, and were now focusing on the problem at hand, which was just getting home alive.

Already things had started happening, beginning with Kai passing out in the middle of the street two days ago, and then getting back up a minute after. At first the team thought that he was just playing the situation off like it was totally fine, and he was totally fine, even though he wasn't. He had certainly done it before. But after a couple of days passed by, Kai really _did _seem to be fine. Which was even weirder. People don't just pass out for no reason. They had nothing to hold against him, though, so the teens had decided to let it go.

Trista had been mysteriously missing since they arrived in Italy, which was perfectly fine with the group. She was creepy…Very creepy. They were starting to suspect that she was one of the undead, like a vampire, or something. She certainly looked like one.

Light filtered through the curtains in the hotel rooms, illuminating beds that still held their occupants, even though the ticking bedside clocks now read 11:43. Everyone was still sleeping, except for Kai, who had wandered off somewhere at five in the morning. The others weren't even sure that he had gone to bed that night, which he probably hadn't.

Trista walked into the room, treading carefully on the floor as it was littered with trash and snoring bodies. It looked to her that they had thrown their own little mini rave in the room last night, considering that everyone had their own room, but had decided to all (save Kai and that pink-haired girl) to pass out on the floor in one room together, among mounds of pop bottles and garbage. Trista wrinkled her nose. It figured that Tusya would assign her the most disgusting humans he could find. He only wanted one of them, so why did he insist on having him drag his grotesque little friends with him?

'Lazy pigs,' she thought as she surveyed the room. She needed to wake them up, but didn't particularly feel like going around to each person and shaking them awake. This was one of the few times she was allowed a physical body, and she didn't want to contract a disease by having to touch them. Luckily, she had come prepared.

Trista pulled a whistle out of her pocket. Cliché? Yes, but affective. She blew into it lightly, causing a high pitched shriek to barrel out of the tiny object. Those who had actually fallen asleep on beds were now on the floor with everyone else. Once she was sure that everyone was awake (signaled to her by the various groans and cursing), she pocketed the whistle and walked over to the window, grabbed the curtains, and flung them wide open. Light poured into the room. Various people around the room who were trying to stand up and get dressed were now on the floor again.

Once everyone's eyes had adjusted to the hated light, they searched around the room for the person who had woken them up so crudely. One boy who she was pretty sure was named Tyson looked at her angrily.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"It is time to wake up," she answered, her voice laced with her smooth Italian accent. "You have slept long enough. We have things to do."

"I thought you said we could do what we wanted for the next couple days," pointed out the blonde boy called Max, his voice groggy and his faced scrunched up against the light.

"My employer has changed his mind. He wants your feet on Poveglia's soil tonight. Don't worry about luggage, you wont have any use for it there."

Lee thought of something. "Hold on a sec. Where have you been since we got here? We haven't even heard from you in almost three days."

Trista ignored the question, already directing her course out of the dumping ground that the hotel room had been transformed into.

"Freak," Tyson muttered under his breath.

"Fat, unruly pig," she served back.

Tyson just stared with his mouth open as she disappeared from sight, the others doing their best to stifle their laughter.

"Shut up."

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Kai leaned on a bridge in a deserted part of the city, his eyes scanning over the Adriatic Sea. His eyes were focused on the ships entering and leaving the city, but his mind was elsewhere. The entire situation that he now found himself in was just plain strange, and, even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, what had happened that day he had passed out severely confused him. Before he had fallen unconscious, he had felt totally drained and completely exhausted. But when he awoke, he felt perfectly fine, as though nothing had even happened. Which didn't make any sense. From what the others had told him, he had only been out for a couple of minutes. That wasn't nearly enough time to replenish the energy he had lost.

Kai scowled, and kicked a rock into the water, watching it fall into the sea with a 'plunk', rippling the still water. He hated feeling as though he was being kept out of the loop. He hated not knowing what was going on around him. He was starting to think he shouldn't have even come in the first place. And he wouldn't have, either, if he hadn't suspected that somehow his grandfather had something to do with this. That theory still hadn't been cleared, but he was starting to think that this situation had come from something else.

Whoever had brought them here, he just hoped that they could get this trip done and over with as soon as possible. Something just wasn't right, and it kept nagging at him constantly. There was just something completely…off about everything that had happened. And there was defiantly something off about that Trista girl.

"Kai!"

Kai looked up from the water, but didn't see anyone. Not that he needed to. He knew who that voice belonged to.

He sighed. Oh well. He knew the silence wouldn't last forever.

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"Kai!" Tyson yelled again, hoping to get a response, but not really expecting one. Kai usually just ignored you and let you come to him. So now they had to go looking all over Venice for him, a city that they had no experience in. Tyson groaned. '_And he thinks _I'm _annoying.' _

"We've looked everywhere," whined Max. "I'm getting tired."

"So is everyone else Max, but we need to find Kai and tell him about the change in plans before tonight," explained Rei.

"But Rei, it's not even one in the afternoon, and we've been searching forever."

"Might as well get a head start. You know how hard Kai is to find when he doesn't want to be found."

"I say we just go home and leave him here," grumbled Tyson.

"Knock it off, all of you. Your complaining isn't doing anything but giving me a headache, ok? We have to go look for Kai sometime today; that's not going to change. So just shut up for thirty minutes so we can get it over with!" Lee finally yelled.

Mariah looked up at her brother. "God Lee, calm down. You don't have to get angry."

"Um, guys?" said Rei.

"Look, I'm sorry, ok? You guys are just really annoying."

"Guys."

"Well, if we annoy you so much then maybe you shouldn't have come," Tyson shot back.

"Guys!"

"Yes, what is it Rei?!" asked Lee.

Rei pointed to his left. "He's right there."

They all followed Rei's finger and sure enough, Kai was standing on a nearby bridge, watching them with mild disinterest.

"Kai, if you were there the whole time, why didn't you say anything?!" yelled Tyson, walking up to where Kai was standing.

"I guess I didn't feel the need."

Tyson was about to throw something back, when Rei stopped him. "Kai, Trista says we have to be at Poveglia by tonight."

Kai shrugged. "Whatever. At least we'll be getting this over with sooner." He put his hands in his pockets and walked past them before they could say anything, heading back in the direction they had come from. They watched him go, then Tyson scowled.

"I hate it when he does that!"

"Does what? Ignore you?" asked Lee.

"No! Well, yeah. But that's not what I meant! I hate it when he says something and just walks away before we can even answer. He doesn't even wait for us to walk with him! He's either behind, or in front. Never with us. Like we're not even his friends, or something. Or we're not worth his time."

"Kai's just independent, Tyson, that's all. He likes to do things alone and he likes to be in control of his own actions. It's just the way he is," explained Rei.

"Yeah, well I think he needs a serious attitude check. He's disrespectful to everyone, even people who actually _attempt _to be nice to him!" Tyson walked away in the opposite direction Kai had gone in a huff.

"Tyson, what are you doing?" asked Max.

"If he wants to be alone, let him be alone! I'm not going to go look for him anymore, I'm not gonna wait for him anymore, and I'm _not _going to follow him around everywhere, just 'cause he decides to leave!" he yelled, his pace never faltering.

Rei sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know if those two will ever get along."

"Just forget about it. Let's go do something before it gets dark. Or before Tyson and Kai find each other and Tyson decides to start a fight," suggested Mariah.

They all silently agreed and left to go spend what would be their last day in the normal world.

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A dark figure leaned back it his chair, laughing softly.

"Soon Kai. Soon."

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Yeah I know. Considering the fact that I made you guys wait a whole year for this the length of this chapter totally sucks, but it would have been weird to go any further. I mean, at least I updated, right? (receives lots of angry glares) Ahem. Well.

No one has to worry about the next update being this long, because now I have the plot set up more, so it should be easier to go from here. I also recommend that you read the story over, even if you just kinda skim, because I even had to before I started to right this.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Even if it is horrendously short…


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